Not even an overtime thriller could overcome the drudgery of a fourth straight NBA Finals between the same two teams.
Game 1 of the Cavaliers-Warriors NBA Finals had a 10.0 rating and 17.4 million viewers on ABC Thursday night, down 5% in ratings and 7% in viewership from last year (10.5, 18.7M) and down 10% in both measures from 2016 (11.1, 19.2M).
Golden State’s overtime win peaked with 21.7 million from 11:15-11:30 PM ET, up 3% from last year’s peak of 21.1 million but down 4% from 2016 (22.6M). The Warriors won last year’s game by 22 points and the 2016 game by 15.
Compared to Game 1 of the 2015 Cavs-Warriors series, which also went to overtime, ratings fell 6% (from 10.6) and viewership 2% (from 17.8M). The peak audience declined 1% from 21.9 million.
Thursday’s game ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Game 1 of the finals since 2014, the last time the event did not feature Cavs-Warriors (Heat-Spurs: 9.0, 14.8M). It was also the third-least watched of the 19 Cavs-Warriors finals games, ahead of Games 3 and 4 in 2016.
Though low by Cavs-Warriors standards, Game 1 still exceeded every other finals opener since ABC began airing the event in 2003. Outside of Cavs-Warriors, ABC’s high water mark for Game 1 is a 9.9 with 16.2 million for Heat-Thunder in 2012.
Viewership exceeded 55 of ABC’s previous 69 finals games, or 80 percent. It may be the case that viewers are tiring of the Cavs-Warriors matchup, but based on historical precedent it is hard to imagine that any alternative series would do better.
For the year, Cavs-Warriors Game 1 ranks as the highest rated and most-watched basketball game on any network, comfortably surpassing the Villanova-Michigan NCAA men’s basketball championship (9.2, 16.0M). That game aired on cable.
Excluding the NFL and the Olympics, it ranks fourth among all sporting events in 2018 behind the three College Football Playoff games.
Game 1 had a 6.3 rating in adults 18-49, down 9% from last year (6.9) and down 14% from 2016 (7.3). It was still TV’s top program in the demo since the Academy Awards in March (6.8).
The game had a 5.7 rating in adults 18-34 (-8%), the lowest for an NBA Finals opener since 2009 (Magic-Lakers: 5.6). It is possible that some of those younger viewers streamed the game instead of watching on linear television, but ESPN did not release streaming figures. A full list of all NBA Finals ratings dating back to 1988 is available here.
Game 1 NBA Finals Ratings, Viewership, Past Decade
